''Best Men'' is a 1997 American

crime comedy film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

Tamra Davis Tamra Davis (born January 22, 1962) is an American film, television and music video director. Early life Davis was born the second out of four children in Studio City, California. She was exposed to the media industry at an early age by her gran ...

, and stars

Sean Patrick Flanery Sean Patrick Flanery (born October 11, 1965) is an American actor, author, and martial artist. He is known for playing Connor MacManus in ''The Boondock Saints'' (1999) and its sequel ''The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day'' (2009), Greg Still ...

, Luke Wilson,

Andy Dick Andrew Roane Dick (born Andrew Thomlinson; December 21, 1965) is an American comedian, actor, musician, and television and film producer. Known professionally as a comic, his first regular television role was on the short-lived but influential ...

Mitchell Whitfield Mitchell Whitfield (born September 8, 1964) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Barry Farber in ''Friends'' (1994-2000), Dr. Bruce Hampton in ''Minor Adjustments'' (1995-1996), and Stan Rothenstein in ''My Cousin Vinny'' (1992 ...

, Fred Ward,

Drew Barrymore Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...

and

Dean Cain Dean George Cain ( Tanaka; born July 31, 1966) is an American actor. From 1993 to 1997, he played Clark Kent / Superman in the TV series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. Cain was the host of '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' a ...

Plot

Four groomsmen are preparing for a wedding, donning tuxedos. Buzz (

), a former soldier, has a few handguns in his tuxedo, Teddy (

), a browbeaten house husband, is meticulously getting ready, Sol (

), a former criminal lawyer now specializing in divorce, dresses neatly while Billy ( Sean Patrick Flannery), a failing actor, is shown watching a newscast. The reporter describes a recent bank robbery where the robber recited Shakespearean before escaping. All four meet up, walking towards the prison where Jesse ( Luke Wilson) is being released after three years for an unspecified crime. Sol and Jesse have a heated argument as Sol's error as his attorney led to Jesse's incarceration. Jesse is marrying Hope (

), surrounded by his best friends. En route to the ceremony, Billy asks them to pull over near a bank. He commences to rob it (he is the Shakespeare robber from the earlier newscast). As he finishes, reciting Shakespeare, Buzz comes in to hurry him up, stopping the robbery, unveiling Billy in the process. The others then walk in, inadvertently creating a hostage situation. When the police arrive, they realise their predicament: they are all accomplices, facing serious prison time. However, the bank customers bond with the five unlikely robbers. Outside the bank Billy's dad, Sheriff Philips ( Fred Ward), demands he surrender, mocking him for being a failure. Billy confronts him, refusing. Inside the bank it's suggested that Billy release some of the hostages. One of them, Gonzo (

Brad Dourif Bradford Claude Dourif (; born March 18, 1950) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Oscar, and won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for his film debut role as Billy Bibbit in ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975). He is also kno ...

) suggests they request a chopper land on the roof so he can fly them to safety. Buzz bonds with Gonzo, a Vietnam veteran, he tells him his life dream was to serve in the military but, being gay, he was not allowed to. Seeing his pain, he gifts Buzz his military jacket. Outside the FBI arrive to take over the hostage negotiation. Lead agent Hoover ( Raymond J. Barry) shows little regard for the hostages, planning to execute the five robbers as they exit the bank. Sheriff Philips approaches the bank and Billy finally confronts his father for being a lousy parent. He realises he was never there for his son. Billy agrees to allow some of the hostages to go, Gonzo amongst them. All of the freed hostages refuse to identify Billy or his friends. The gang negotiates for Jesse and Hope to be married in the bank; Hoover agrees for a priest to go in and perform the ceremony. During the wedding, the priest turns out to be a federal agent and Teddy and Buzz are shot during a struggle. Teddy, feeling like the bank robbery has woken him up, refuses to be sent to hospital for urgent care but eventually acquiesces. Buzz patches his wound and the guys plot their exit from the bank. Sol goes outside, negotiating a deal with Hoover to get everyone out. As he re-enters the bank, Hoover orders his men to gun them down. Sol and the guys, with the remaining hostages, leave the bank draped in a giant American flag. The snipers, unable to pick out the guys, refuse to shoot indiscriminately (or shoot at the flag). As everyone enters the bus, Sol tells Jesse he's sorry and Hope forgives him. He then steps off the bus as he announces the deal he brokered involved him surrendering to save Jesse and the guys. Hoover, however, reneges on the deal; Sol holds him at gunpoint so the police cars let the bus go. As the bus leaves, he is shot and killed by the snipers. Sheriff Philips then blocks the feds with his police cruiser, giving Billy time to get away. As the bus heads to the local airport the feds start to catch up, and Buzz drives it off the main road. Gonzo then appears in a military helicopter and Jesse and Hope escape onto the chopper. However, Billy and Buzz are unable to, remaining behind. Surrounded by the feds, in a final bloody shoot out, the two best friends die but not before Buzz gets off a shot killing Hoover. The film ends with Jesse and Hope playing with a son some years later on a beach in Mexico.

Cast

as Sergeant Buzz Thomas * Fred Ward as Sheriff Philips *

as Teddy Pollack *

as Billy Phillips *

as Sol Jacobs * Luke Wilson as Jesse Reilly *

as Hope * Raymond J. Barry as Agent Hoover *

as John "Gonzo" Coleman * Tracy Fraim as Cuervo *

Biff Yeager Biff Yeager is an American actor. He has appeared in many TV series including ''Gilmore Girls''. Career Yeager has appeared in such TV shows as '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ''The Wonder Years'', and '' Scrubs''. He played Lieutenant Com ...

as Mayor Boar * Art Edler Brown as Agent Carter *

K. K. Dodds K. K. Dodds (born 1965) is an American actress best known for playing Susan Hollander on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox drama ''Prison Break'' and for her roles in the films ''Soldier (1998 American film), Soldier'' and ''A Life Less Ordinary'' ...

as Cindy Vargas *

Kathryn Joosten Kathryn Joosten (born Kathryn Rausch; December 20, 1939 – June 2, 2012) was an American actress. Her best known roles include Dolores Landingham on NBC's ''The West Wing'' from 1999 to 2002 and Karen McCluskey on ABC's '' Desperate Housewives ...

as Edie * Dee Maaske as Dorothy

Reception

On review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 13% based on 8 reviews.

References

External links

* * {{Tamra Davis 1997 films 1990s crime comedy films American heist films Films directed by Tamra Davis Orion Pictures films Films scored by Mark Mothersbaugh American crime comedy films 1997 comedy films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films